Appliance for invalids



Nov. 25., 1930. R. A. AUSTIN ArPLIANcE Fon'INvALIDs 2 Shasta-Sheet 1Filed April 5. 1928' Nov. 25, 1,930.

R. A. AUSTIN ARPLIANCE FOR INVALIDS Filed April 5, 192s Mm f/m,

2 Sheets-Shena 2 Patented Nov. 25, 1930 Boissiere; AUSTIN, or cnioheo,InLINois APPLIANCES FOR NVALIDS eppiieaiionaieaapni 5, 192s. sei-iaiiioaaeasof` i 'llfiis invention relates to appliances for in# vali s. yy y In thecaie of bed-ridden invalide, particularly thosewlioarephysically unable to help 7,. themselves, great l. diiiiculty` isencountered in o moving them into position` vso as to permit changes inbed clothing, to .accommodate the `functions of nature and the like. iHeretofore,

variousf contrivances have been employed such as hoists providedwitlicable and pulley or gearing systems which have complicated`mechanismeasily disarranged, and of such size and weight as toprecludeready transportation; further, devices of the character here- 115toi'oreutilized are inconvenient for the reason that `the invalids`o-rpatients must;` vbe placed within the hoistingcontrivances beforethey can be moved aboutas desired; also hoistingdevices of thecharacterreferred to i 20 have exposed mechanism subjecting the operator to the danger of injury by encountering the exposed parts, and thepatient is also suby jected to danger due tothe unreliability of thepulley `and ratchet mechanism `commonly g3 employed `in connection withdevices `of this sort.

An` object ofthis invention is to, provide a mechanism whichzincludeswhat is, in effect, an auxiliary bed adapted to rest Aupon the J usualtype ofbed` and having webbing which permits the patient to `rest hisweight upon the usual bed, the arrangement being such` that the bedcovers may be `,placed over the patient and over the auxiliary bedwhereby C; hoisting mechanism'may be utilized'to lift the auxiliary bedwith the patient and bed clothes thereon, leaving aperturesexposed,intheweb- `bingby means of which the natural functions of the body maybeattended to; also the bed i0 clothes upon the bed proper may be readilychanged without inconvenience tothe patient.

A iurtherobject of the invention is to proi. vide a portablehoistingmechanism of novel i form for use in connection with theauxiliary `a5 bed, whereby the partsare connected together inl suchmanner `that thefentire contrivance i may beeasily transportedfrom placeto place `for usein connectionwith any number of difi ferentbedaasforinstance, in ahospital.

Y ably has the usual sheetthereonlbut no outer 50 A L A stillfurtherobjectof the invention is to provide `a hoisting mechanism forinvalide, i wherein the supporting franieo-f hoisting mechanismYcomprises hollow tidnilar` inembersjof light weight, the liollowconstruction of which is utilized forv the positioning ofpor 5tionsof'the operating mechanism therein for the purpose oli' `entirely`enclosing and concealing the i same to prev'entfdanger to, operators ofthe mechanism and toaffordl a safe` and" `substantial Isupportingframewhich has a 5G neat "and attractive appearance. e

Yet another object of the` invention is to `provide an invalidjhoistingmechanism of the character referred to, wherein a "worin gearingarrangement is employed incennecu 55 tion with fthe tubular members of`the framef work `and operates, without locking. devices of any kind,'to support the auxiliary bed in any desired elevated position.` i

`other and further Objecs'oi the invention W will more clearlyappearfromthe description and claims hereinafter following. e' `4 Inthedrawings forming apart noiirthis specification, Figure 1 is a top planviewof the auxiliary bed and hoistingmechaiiism .a

forming the subject' matteroi this invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevationalview of the in vention showing the saineused inV connection with a usual type of bed and` illustrating a patientoccupying the auxiliarybed. Figure ,80. 3`isfan endelevational viewofthe appliance shown in Figure 12. `Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary,vertical, sectional view ofone of the .standards of the hoistingmechanism disclosing means by which the mechanism is E5 operated. Figure5 is an enlarged, detailed 'sectional "view similar to Figure lLandshow- `ing the section taken through the supporting standardlongitudinally of the hoisting i i i l. mechanism. And Figure 6 is an.enlarged, J0 sectional View of `a'ioot member utilized in connectionwith the invention.

`As shown `in the drawing-s, 10 denotes a bedof a usual type having afoot piece 1l and 9,. headpiece 12, and. providedwith the usual lspringend mattress, the mattressibeing indii cated by the `numeral 13.-TvVhen used in connection with the invention, the bedel()prefercovering.`

An auxiliary bed frame is provided, indicated generally by the numeral14, said frame comprising tubular side members 15 "15, a connecting headmember 16 and a toot meinber 17. All ot' the members 15, 1G and 17 arein the form of hollow pipes or tubing, and the foot member 17 is oi'fsetto one side of the plane in which the members 15-15 and 16 lic andconnected with the adjacent ends or the side members 1:315 by uprights18-13- The purpose ot offsetting the member 17 is to provide clearancefor the feet oi" the patient occupying the auxiliary bed. The auxiliarybed is preferably provided with webs 19 and 20, these webs being ot suchlength as to leave an opening 21 therebetween. The webs 19 and 2O arepreferably made up ot some' strong, light material, such as canvas, eachof the webs in the edges adjacent the side members 15, being providedwith a` plurality oty grommets indicated at 22 through vwhichiiexiblemembers 231 may be laced as indicated in the drawing, theiiexible members being wound about the adjacent side members 1.5- 15 otthe traine. As before stated, the auxiliary frame 14 is of suchcharacter as to normally rest upon the top et the mattress 13, and whena patient is in position upon the frame, his weight is'talen up by themattress 13, due to the flexibility ot the webs 19 and 20, so t-hat thepatient rests comfortably upon the bed 10 without suiiering anyinconvenience due to the presence o1 the 'frame' 14. `When the patientis in this position', outer covers of any suitable character may beplaced over the patient and trame 14, and if desired, tucked in underthe mattress 13 in the usual way.

Cooperating with the auxiliary bed 14 is a novel hoist-ing mechanismwhich includes a hollow shaft 24, the opposite ends oit which arerotatably supported by bearing members 25 and 26 secured to uprightstandards 27 and 23. The shaft 24 has secured thereon in spacedrelation, drums 29 and 30, eachfot the drums being ot the same characterand keyed to the shaft 24 by mea-ns ot a set-screw indicated at 31 inFigure 5 so that each ot'- the drums rotates with the shaft, the drum 29being located adjacent the head ot the auxiliary bed frame 14, while thedrumV is located in line with the foot of said bed. To the drum 29 isattached a cable 32 which has diverging supporting portions 33, theouter ends of' which are attached to the head of the auxiliary bed trame14 adjacent the side members 15-15 as best shown in Figure 3, the cable32 being adapted to wind upon the drum 29 and by reason ofv the factthat the drum is located somewhat inwardly` of a vertical planeextending through the head end ot the auxiliary bed 14, thecable 32 willwind evenly without jerking, upon the drum 29. The drum 30 has a cable34 connected thereto having diverging portions which are connected tothe opposite ends ot the toot member 17 of the auxiliary trame 14, thedrinn 3() also being located slightly to one side ot a plane extendingvertically through the foot member 17 so that the cable 34 windssmoothly upon the drum 30.

The standard 27 is made up of a single piece o1 pipe, the upper end ofwhich is threaded into the casting 25, while the lower end ot` thestandard 27 is threaded into a suitable aperture in a coupling 36. Thecou pling 36, in addition to the opening into which the lower end of thestandard 27 fits, is provided with four horizontally extending nipples,three of which are adapted for the reception ol" portions o'if shortlengths ol pipe indicated at 37, 33 and 39, the pipes 37 and 38extending transversely o1' the device, while the pipe 39 extendsoutwardly from the standard 27 longitudinally o1 the contrivancc. Eachoi' the pipes 37, 38 and 39 is provided with a curved toot portionindicated at 4() which is threaded for the reception or' a plug 4'1carrying a rubber castor 420 cemented into the plug, as best shown inFigure 6. The remaining nipple of the coupling 36'is adapt- Ved i'or thereception of a connecting piece 419 which extends to the lower end' ofthe standard 28. Strut rods 42-42 are preferably connected to a collar43 on the standard 27 and have their opposite ends connected to theouter portions of the transversely extending pipe 37 and 33, each of thestraight rods having a turn buckle 44 embodied therein by meansl ofwhich the tension ot the struts may be adjusted. I

The standard 28 at its lower end has a coupling 45 similar to thecoupling 36, and provided with a threaded opening for the reception ofthe lower end ot the pipe 4h toi-ming part of the .standard 28. rl`hecoupling 45 also has a threaded opening for the reception of theconnecting piece 419` The coupling 45 also has threaded openings for thereception of horizontally extending pipes 46-47 and 48, each o'l thesepipes having` a turned portion forming a toot as indioated at 49, otlthe same character as the foot 40 illustrated in detail at Figure 6.interposed between th'e upper pipe section of the standard28 and thepipe section 46 is a cast gear housing 50, said gear housing beingprovided with threaded nipples 51 and 52 for the reception ot the upperpipe section of tl e standard 28 and the' lower pipe section 46. Thehousing is provided with a detachable cap 53 and mounted in the cap 53vand the rear wall 54 of the housing is an axle 55 which supports acombined' drum and gear indicated respectively by the numerals 56 and57, the gear being of the worm type. Rotatably mounted below the axle 55and substantially at right angles thereto is a shaft 58 carrying a worm59 thereon, said worm being lill disposed in` mesh with the worm wheel57. The outer end of the shaft 58 has mounted thereon a crank handle 60by means of which the shaft 58 and the gear59 are rotated, iinpartingrotation to the gear 57 and the drum 56 at a much slower speed. ASecured to the 'y drum 56 is a cablel61 adapted to wind `upon the drumand, said cable extends upwardly through the hollow interior of theupper pipe section of the standard 28, the cable 61 being adapted towind upon a drum 62 rotatably mounted in the supporting casting 26.

" the purposes referred to.

the auxiliary bed 14 is effected through rota- `worm driving mechanism,it will be appreciated that the auxiliary frame 14 may be supported atany elevation without the use of any holding means such as pawlV andratchet mechanisms by reason of the worm gears preventing any unintendedrotation of the parts.

In operation, assuming that the auxiliary what Inow consider thepreferred manner of carryingout my invention, the same isV merelyillustrative and I contemplate all changesand modifications that Vcomewithinthescope of the claim appended hereto.

Iclaim:

frame adapted to rest upon a bed, said frame having head, foot and sidemembers, said foot member being offset upwardly above the `plane of theremaining bed members to afford clearance for the feet of the patient,and supporting means for the invalid disposed below'the plane of thefoot member and in the plane of the head and `side members.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethis 3rd day of April, 1928. i i

'ROBERT A. AUSTIN.

bed frame isin its normal position resting upon the bedproper, `thepatient or invalid may recline uponthe webbing of the auxiliary frame insuch mannerthat he is sup- Y port-ed by the bed proper. In thisposition,

the bed covers may be placed over the invalid 'and over the frameandtucked in if desired in order to prevent any exposure of the patient.Assuming that it is necessary `to change the sheeting of the bedproperor to p `place the patient in convenient position to permit theexcretory functions `of the body,

the auxiliary bed 14 may be elevated by the hoistingmechanism carryingthe patient upwardly, along with the outer coverings of thebed clothing,which permits access to be gained in the desired manner to accomplishThe elevation of tion ofthe crank `handle 60 imparting rota- `.tiontothe worm vwheel 57 and drum 56 at a slower rate so as to take in thecable 61 and through the connection of the cable with` the` drum 62,effecting corresponding rota-V tion of the drums 29 and 30. Due to thelarge reduction in gear ratio, turningV movement of the crank handle maybe effected with a minimum of effort and because of the provision of theworm drive, the auxiliary bed may, Y

be maintainedat any desired elevation due to the fact that the wormmembers will not move until positively actuated through rotation of thecrank handle 60. lVhile I have herein shown and described In an invalidsappliance,an auxiliary bed lEl() lll()

